NECESSITY OF PROVING ACTUAL DISTRIBUTION OF P2P MUSIC FILES

To hold an individual liable for copyright infringement resulting from online file sharing, there must be a showing of actual distribution. Actual distribution requires more than merely making files available for distribution on a peer-to-peer network.

The following questions have been addressed in this article:

What was the problem with the jury instruction?What if a file is downloaded as part of a company-ordered investigation – does that constitute actual distribution?Have infringement lawsuits inhibited file sharing?